Movable diaphragm for radioscopic apparatus



March 27, 1951 M. D. PolTTEvlN 2,546,699

MOVABLE DIAPHRAGM FOR RADIOSCPIC APPARATUS F11ed Feb. 14, 1947 2 sheets-sheet 1 l! .I2 y j f7 f6 2 March 27, 1951 M. D. PorrTl-:VIN 2,546,599'

MOVABLE DIAPHRAGM FOR RADIOSCOPIC APPARATUS Filed Feb. 14, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 dal Patented Mar. 27, 1951 MOVABLE DIAPHRAGM FOR IRADIOSCOPI'C APPARATUS Maurice `vPnittevin, Meudon France ApplcationFebruary 14, 1947., SeialINmZSZ In France February 11, 12946 Section 1 Public Law 690, August., 1946 Patent expires February'll, 1966 The present invention has for its object a device which permits of regulating the opening and the direction of the beam of X rays of a radioyscop'ic apparatus. In accordance with the present invention this Yis effected by means of a rigid set or assembly hereinafter termed the rigid set constituted by a diaphragm, its housing, and an arm at the extremity of which is disposed an adjusting member for the opening of this diaphragm, this set being guided 'by a mechanical system which allows the diaphragm to move relatively to the iX-.ray tube and also relatively .to the radiogenicscreen by translation only and without rotation relative to the screen and its radiogenic tube, assumed iixed, so that, the dis'- This rigid set is yso arranged that, when the diaphragm is moved in its plane, between the focus and the screen and, preferably parallel to lthe latter, its member for adjusting the opening moves in a plane preferably further from the focus than the screen in order that it may be easily accessible for the Aoperator While he Watches this screen. The operator thus has at his disposal a single member for adjusting the opening and the direction of the beam of X'rays, of which the displacements Vare smaller than those of the radioscopic field and 'always parallel to the latter and these advantages are obtained without any mechanical transformation being necessary to transmit to the diaphragm the translations of the adjusting jmember.

An apparatus in accordance with theinvention may be embodied by employing any suspension device for obtaining ythe translation `without rotation of the rigid set, diaphragm housing adjusti-ng member, for example carriages rolling or sliding on tubes round polygonal Asingle for mul-'- tiple, and suitably directed, or .a system of articulated parallelograms. In particular, ythere may be 1employed articulated parallelepipeds juxtaposed on 'the same yaxis such -astliose which will be 'hereinafter rdescribed and 'which are particularly favourable for obtaining 4a very ,great y-mobility and for 4taking Aup very `little space.

ThereV may also be employed any device rfor balancing the 4movable parts by counterweight .and/or springs suitably adapted tothe yguiding System.

Fig. 1, `2 and '3' "illustrate, respectively vin yside Vention.

In these figures a member I in the form of a frame lis provided with a foot12 fixed to the assemblage radiogenic tube radioscopic screen not `illustrated in 4'the gures. A frame 3 is parallel to the frame I. There are flat and wide 'rods 'Il and 4". TWO parallel axles Sand 5 are rigidly -connected'to ythe frame I and on them are hinged the right extremities of the rods 4 and 4'. Two parallel axles B and A6 are rigidly connected -w-ith the frame 3 and on ythem are hinged the left extremities of the rods t and 4. The frame 3 can, therefore, move horizontally over a curved path of which the radius is equal to the interaxial distance 5^6 and 5', 6 but always remains parallel to the 'iframe I.

lFrame "I -is parallel to frames I and 3. Rods r8 and 8' are flat and lWide like rods 4 and 4'. Axles 9 and 9' are rigidly connected with vframe 3 and on them are hinged the rightends of rods 8 and 8. Axles I0 and l0 are rigidly connected with frame l and on them are hinged the left ends of rods 8 and 8'.. Frame l ycan therefore move vertically through a curved path of which the radius is equal to the interaxial distance SL-IIJ and 9|Il but always remains parallel to n "frame 3.

lvvell known and therefore, are not shown.

"l to satisfy the `principle `previously explained.

This fixing maybe effected in any manner but 'it is particularly advantagecmsv to dispose the' arm carrying the control Rmember Within the assenfbla-ges of the tvvo hinged parallelograms form-ed by the 4rods 4-4, 8-#8 in lorder tofreduce the space taken :upby' the set and automatically to obtain thelimi'tationof"the Apath of `the rigid set bythe iframes Il and f3;

The opening ofthe Idiaphragm 15| is adjustable, A'Ihe'housin'g I"2 contains fin its Ainterior the lguiding Vmechanism of the kmoving parts of the 'dia-v phragm II, the construction of which is already A tubular arm I B'rigidly yconnected with' the `housing I2 forms the journaflfor theloperating rod'H which 'terminates in the handle Iii,V alteration `ofthe-opening ofthe V li'aphr'ag'm@ `II being eifected 'by turning the operating'rodabout its axis. VThe mechanical device for transforming the turning of the handle i into a movement for opening the diaphragm II, will not be described because it may be constructed on any well known system. It may, inzparticular, comprise a double handle l5, allowing", of -findependent adjustment of two perpendicularly disposed dimensions of the opening of diaphragm II.

In order that the rigid set I I to I5 may be easily movable when the plane Of the diaphragm is not horizontal, there may be employed counterweights IB, I6 respectively rigidly connected with the arms I'I and Il' themselve's'i'lx'ed to the rods 8 and 8 or a single oneof these counterweights may be used which is rigidly connected with either one of these arms` iixed to a single one of these rods. Also, the counterweights may -as toapply to these rods couples of which the sum is equal and opposite to the couple-resulting from the mass of the movable parts,

In a like manner one of these systems for securing equilibrium or a combination of these systems may also be applied to the rods 4 and 4 if lthe planes of the axles 5-5' and 6-6' are not vertical.

`Lastly the springs 'may be removable or adjustable as a function of the operating position of the apparatus.

Figs. 4 and 5 illustrate respectively in elevation and in'plan the assemblage of the movable diaphragm and its suspension system mounted on yaradioscopic apparatus.

Inthese figures:

An X-ray generator 2| has its focus at 22. A movable frame 23 contains the radioscopic screen (not illustrated). A member 24 serves for assembling generator 2! and frame 23.

The frame I and the foot 2 are iixed to the 'member 2li by means of the bolt 25.

A diaphragm 26 is rigidly iixed to the member 24 and limits the dimensions of the beam of X rays to the dimensions of the screen whatever be the opening andthe position of the movable ldiaphragm I-I. AThe subject and the operator are shown at 27 and 28 respectively. l The shapes of the foot 2 and of the housing i vare alittle diierent from those in Figures 1, 2

and 3, to facilitate the arrangement of the whole.

It is easily seen from Figures 4 and 5 that the Yoperator 28 can easily adjust the opening and the position of the radioscopic -iield solely by .operatingthe member I5 and that the ratio of .the movements'of the radioscopic field to the movements ofthe single control member I5 is equal to ratio of thedistance focus-screento the distance focus-diaphragm. Y

yThe mobilityy of .the rigid assemblage will be 'very great if the axles 5 5', 5 6?,A 9 3' and VvIll---IIV- are small enough and if thedistances so as to-obtain suiicien-tly small .oscillation angles Vnon-translatery movement of v.the adjustment of the opening of the diaphragml ll. There .may be employed for the construction nof the rigid set diaphragm vhousing adjusting @member any known system which allowsl off ob.-

2,54c,699 fi v 4 taining diaphragm openings circular, square or rectangular, of iixed or adjustable proportions, in particular systems of transmission by wire or flexible cable called Bowden or systems of rods, Vconnections and cranks driving movable'shutters slides or articulated par'allelograms.

Preferably a system should be chosen-'allowing oi adjusting the opening of the diaphragm by rotation of the control member or by causing appropriate levers to approach or to separate or in a general way, by any movement different from that of translation necessary for the adjustment of the direction of the beam of the X rays.

DevicesV in accordance with the invention may be-employed on radioscopic apparatus of which the radiogenic tube and the radioscopic screen are movable, together or separately and, if necessary, vcounterbalanced by any known means. In

' particular these devices may be employed on apparatus in which the set radiogenic-tube radioscopic screenris juist vertically displaceable by .a rack or analogous system and in a generalway in apparatus of which the tube and the screen are of reduced mobility. Apparatus to which the present invention gives newpossibiiities all the greater as they hitherto have only permitted radioscopic exploration onlyl under very inconvenient conditions.

Finally, the device in accordance with the pres.- ent invention may be employed on apparatus of which Vthe screen comprises a single or multiple anti-diffusion grid, centred on the focus of the radiogenic tube, this oentring not being effected by the displacements of the diaphragm since the radiogenic focus is i'ixed relative to the screen. l

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters P-atent is: 4

1. A radioscopic apparatus having an X-ray tube, a radioscopic screen in xed relation to the X-ray tube, a diaphragm between the X-ray tube and the screen, said diaphragm having lan adjustablev aperture therethrough, a housing in which the diaphragm is mounted, a .movable unit comprising said housing and a mechanical system of interconnected members for moving the rhousing and the diaphragm both transversely and axially in relation to the X-ray tube and to the screen while maintaining a parallel relation betweenthe diaphragm and the screen, said mechanical system of interconnected members comprising a control arm operable at one end from a point in proximity tothe screen and connected at its other end to the housing and to the diaphragm carried thereby, and two juxtaposed deformable parallelepipeds articulated in planes perpendicular'to each other with the end f -ace of one of the parallelepipeds being-parallel to the plane ofthe housing andfrigidlyconnected to-.the housing, so that the housing and the diaphragm carried thereby can'be vdisplaced in parallel planes as the parallelepipeds are articulated.

- 2. A'radioscopic apparatus-according to'cla'im l wherein the control arm passes through the interior of the two par'allelepipeds.

3. A radioscopic apparatusaccording to claim l .wherein the two-parallelepipedsare constituted by a-common-frame, two-end frames and .two lseries of rods,- the twovseries-of rods-being 'artic'- Aulated .in mutually..perpendicular planes;

4. A radioscopicv apparatus according vtoclairn ,l .wherein the movable unit is;provided with .counterbal-ancing meansy for maintaining theV unit in any-adjusted position 'to which it is movedfj..

'v 5. vA radioscopicl apparatus according to 'claimt'l Meeren. te esaminati??goeiselstmiisii to that which supports the diaphragm and its housing is provided with a handle, rotation ofk which about the axis of the control arm serves for adjusting the size of the opening in the diaphragm.

MAURICE D. POITTEVIN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

Number Number l0 334,818

6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Raab May 16, 1933 Lundquist June 8, 1937 Simon Jan. 13, 1942 Storm Sept. l5, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Sept. 11, 1930 

